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Note: This article and Nelson's TVGC interview are almost identical. I'm summarizing the main points in this article, but I will put more emphasis on anything covered less in Nelson's article.

Drake says that although he knew he was not immune to being fired, he was "surprised" when Corday phoned to let him know. He says Corday told him, "We're taking you and Deidre off the canvas for a period of time."

He says the "business side" of his being fired is that, according to his "read of the situation", the show was trying to get renewed and the licensing fee was greatly reduced. He says the decision was made to change the budget: "lose this section, lose this part of the story, whatever we need to do." But, he says that "when you look at the personal side", you might think that the performance or the story wasn't well-received. He says he did question whether that happened, but he comes away "with no regrets", because he did his best, and the decisions were not within his control.

He says he still wakes up at 4:45 am and then realizes he has nowhere to go. He relates that even if the shooting went until 2 am one night, he'd be back at 6 the next morning. He says, "I embraced the entire operation", but he continues that he's grateful they gave him 25 years.

As for his loyalty to the show, he says just as he still roots for the Yankees, who fired him, he'll always root for Days and would be thrilled if they got the Best Show Emmy.

Regarding the ending to John and Marlena's story, he says when he runs into fans, they ask him when John and Marlena are returning, because the ending was so fast. He says fans tell him he's supposed to be "getting repaired in Switzerland", and he tells them, "Well, that's a very long story." He adds that after Corday called him to tell him he was let go, "we never made any contact. I never saw him personally." However, he did recently get a nice letter from Corday.

During his last weeks at the show, he wanted to "have closure" with the crew, since he'd spent so much time with them over the years. He relates, "I was really looking at people, taking my mental photographs, really appreciating them because more than likely, I'll never see them again. I mean, you always think you will..."

Drake relates that the last day of shooting, after his final scene was done, a cameraman, Michael, gave out cups of homemade moonshine to the crew. "The rest of the cast was gone, and all the crew came out... and we cheered each other. And that was that."

SOD then has a small feature where Drake comments on three costars:

Eileen Davidson: Drake says he lives near Eileen, so he ends up seeing her often. "I love Eileen... what she did with that storyline was amazing."

Deidre Hall: Drake says that being removed from things helps him appreciate why the audience liked John and Marlena so much. He says he even has a greater appreciation for it now than when he was doing the show. "[Deidre and I] were very passionate about trying to get our point of view to the audience, to sell the idea." He says he and Deidre would discuss the best way to do that. "Sometimes we'd say to a director, 'Let's move a line here. Let us look at each other,' things like that."

Joe Mascolo: "I loved Joe Mascolo and working with him." He says that men don't work together too often on a soap opera, but he loved the Maison Blanche story. "It was like doing a miniseries every single day with him."

Eileen Davidson: Drake says he lives near Eileen, so he ends up seeing her often. "I love Eileen... what she did with that storyline was amazing."

Deidre Hall: Drake says that being removed from things helps him appreciate why the audience liked John and Marlena so much. He says he even has a greater appreciation for it now than when he was doing the show. "[Deidre and I] were very passionate about trying to get our point of view to the audience, to sell the idea." He says he and Deidre would discuss the best way to do that. "Sometimes we'd say to a director, 'Let's move a line here. Let us look at each other,' things like that."

Joe Mascolo: "I loved Joe Mascolo and working with him." He says that men don't work together too often on a soap opera, but he loved the Maison Blanche story. "It was like doing a miniseries every single day with him."

I think Deidre and Drake were and have been a class act. I still miss them on my screen to this day. While I enjoyed the show as a whole, in the 90s and early 2000s, from 2004 on I really tuned into the show to see what these two were up to. Still a major void in the show and far as I'm concerned. Thanks for posting.

Oh man I miss J&M. The show isn't the same. I watch half heartedly. Mainly for Bo and Carly now, which is the only reason I came back, but I still watch expecting the next scene will have J&M in it. Drake rocks!!